On this twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Liturgy focuses on the passage from Luke in which the apostles ask Jesus:

«Increase our Faith!» (Lk 17:5).

Looking through the Sources, we come across a passage from Celano, taken from the Second Life, in which Francis is called to strengthen his faith in God at a particular moment in his journey.

"At a certain moment in his life, the Father suffered a violent temptation of spirit, certainly for the benefit of his crown.

For this reason, he was distressed and full of suffering, mortifying and chastising his body, praying and weeping in the most painful way.

This struggle lasted several years. One day, while praying in Santa Maria della Porziuncola, he heard a voice in his spirit:

'Francis, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain to move, and it will move'.

'Lord,' replied the Saint, 'what is the mountain that I would like to move?'.

And the voice replied again:

"The mountain is your temptation."

"O Lord," replied the saint in tears, "let it be done to me as you have said."

Immediately, all temptation disappeared, and he felt free and completely serene in the depths of his heart (FF 702).

This is what happens when we open ourselves to Grace! It transforms everything, strengthening the inner man.

Chiara was also a teacher of faith for her Damianite sisterhood.

In fact, she addresses Ermentrude of Bruges in a letter:

"Remain, therefore, my dearest, faithful until death to Him to whom you have bound yourself forever. And you will certainly be crowned by Him with the crown of life. The time of toil here below is short, but the reward is eternal...

Bear adversity willingly, and let pride not swell your heart in prosperous times; the former call you back to your faith, the latter require it" (FF 2914).

Sunday 27th in O.T. year C  (Lk 17:5-10)

Today is the Feast of the one who gave meaning and roots to Franciscanism. The Gospel chosen is that of Jesus turning to the Father to thank Him for revealing the Mysteries of the Kingdom to the little ones. And he, Francis, is the Little One, the meek par excellence.

In the Sources, the littleness of this Giant of the Gospel is summed up thus:

"Another time he confessed to his companions:

"Among other graces, the Most High has bestowed on me this: I would obey the novice who entered the Order today, if he were my guardian, as if he were the first and oldest of the brothers.

Indeed, the subject must not consider in the prelate the man, but He for whose sake he submits to a man".

He also said:

"There would not be a prelate in the whole world, feared by his subjects and brothers as much as the Lord would have me feared by my brothers, should I wish it.

But the Most High has given me this grace: to know how to adapt myself to everyone, as if I were the smallest friar in the Order".

We have seen with our own eyes repeatedly, we who have lived with Francis, the truth of this statement of his.

On several occasions, when certain brothers did not assist him in his needs, or some word was addressed to him that produced agitation, the Saint immediately withdrew to pray.

And when he returned, he did not want to remember the insult, saying: 'That friar neglected me!', or: 'He said this word to me'.

And the closer he came to death, the more concerned he was to live and die in all the perfection of humility and poverty' (FF 1663).

He was humble and meek not only with superiors but also with peers and inferiors, content to be admonished and corrected by them.

One day, crossing a farmer's field on a donkey, because he was weak, the latter pointed out to him that he was in life really what they said about him:

'Look,' said the farmer, 'be as good as everyone says you are, because many people trust you. That is why I exhort you never to behave differently from what is hoped'.

At these words, Francis got down from the donkey and, prostrating himself before the peasant, he kissed his feet several times, humbly thanking him that he had deigned to admonish him [...].

He thought himself vile before God and men' (FF 726).

And in the Salutation to the Virtues, written by him, we read:

"Holy humility/ confounds pride/ and all men that are in the world/ and likewise all things that are in the world" (FF 258).

«I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the little ones» (Mt 11:25)

S. Francis of Assisi, saint patron of Italy  (Mt 11:25-30)

In today's Gospel, Jesus rebukes the cities that, despite having received wonderful benefits, had not converted. It echoes:

«Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!» (Lk 10:13).

The present Judgement looms on the horizon.

Jesus emphasises their failure to listen and their contempt for his messengers: it is as if they were doing all this directly to him.

Francis of Assisi was deeply grateful to God for having drawn him from the courteous and distracted life of the world to the service of the Gospel.

But like every authentic prophet, Francis also encountered the contempt of men on his journey of faith.

However, as a true disciple of Christ who loves to conform to the Lord even in this, he did not cease to proclaim conversion and penance to all, spreading the Word of God everywhere and even preaching to the birds:

"It is said that Francis, travelling with his companions through towns and villages, came to a town to preach the Word of God. But as soon as he began his speech, the citizens of the place, observing him in that strange manner of dress, drove him out of the town as a madman.

Then Francis, going out into the countryside and standing on the public road, observed in a field a large number of birds of different species, intent on pecking.

He turned to them and called them to come to him, as if he were speaking to men; and immediately, at his call, such a multitude of birds of every kind gathered around him that it was said that never had so many been seen in those parts" (FF 2307).

Those who listen to the prophets of God listen to God himself, and those who do not listen to them reject God himself.

But Francis did not stop at the contempt of men, because he knew that the disciple is not greater than his Master, and he taught this to his friars.

In fact, the Sources still attest to this.

Francis maintained that if, after the convocation of the chapter assembly, he were called to preach the Word of God and immediately afterwards rejected, he should still be content.

'I rise and preach according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I finish the sermon.

Let us suppose that then, after thinking about it, they conclude by saying to me:

'We do not want you to reign over us, because you cannot speak, you are too simple, we are ashamed to have such an uneducated and incapable person as our leader. From now on, do not presume to call yourself our prelate!'. And so saying, they drive me away, reviling me.

Well, I could not consider myself a true friar minor if I did not remain equally serene when they revile me and ignominiously drive me away [...] as when they honour me [...] provided that their advantage is the same [...] for here there is certain gain for the soul" (FF 1639).

«Nevertheless, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Simon in the judgement than for you» (Lk 10:14)

Friday, 26th wk. in Ordinary Time  (Lk 10:13-16)

Before the disciples arguing about who was the greatest among them, Jesus educates them by placing a child before their eyes. This is the measure of their greatness.

So: acceptance and littleness are the credentials for the Kingdom.

Small in stature, but truly endowed with that littleness that makes one a child at heart.

Francis was always concerned not to scandalise the little ones that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel.

The authority of the Sources informs us:

"Often thinking of the scandal given to the little ones, he felt an immense sadness, to the point of believing that he would have died of grief, if the divine goodness had not sustained him with its comfort" (FF 1139).

Francis himself described himself as "I, small and simple, inexperienced in speaking, have received the grace of prayer more than that of preaching [...].

In prayer we speak to God, we listen to him, and we remain in the midst of the angels" (FF 1204).

Again: "Nothing else did he possess, the Poor Man of Christ, but two pennies that he could bestow with liberal charity: his body and soul" (FF 1167).

And to his brothers he taught and recommended littleness in every happy or sad affair:

"Scarcity itself was for them abundance and superabundance, while, according to the advice of the Wise One, they took pleasure not in greatness, but in the smallest things" (FF 1075).

Oh what great love he had for the Angels!

The Franciscan Sources tell us that "to the angelic spirits, who burn with a marvellous fire, which inflames the souls of the elect and makes them penetrate into God, he was united by an unbreakable bond of love [...].

For blessed Michael the Archangel, since he has the task of presenting souls to God, he nurtured special devotion and love, dictated by his fervent zeal for the salvation of souls" (FF 1166).

«Beware of despising a single one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven ceaselessly see the face of the Father in heaven» (Mt 18:10)

Holy Guardian Angels, 2 October

In these verses from chapter nine, the Gospel of Luke highlights the conditions necessary to follow Jesus and His bare, poor and wandering life.

«Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head» (Lk 9:58).

Francis, a true lover and imitator of Him, followed in His footsteps, living his life of faith in poverty and precariousness, because he understood clearly that following Him in His call meant abandoning everything else.

The Sources recount that the Minims, in their Letter to the whole Order, expressed themselves thus:

"Brother Francis, a man of little account and frailty, your little servant, wishes you health in Him who redeemed us and washed us in His most precious blood.

Hearing his name, adore him with fear and reverence, prostrate on the ground: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High is his name, blessed for ever and ever" (FF 215).

The Poverello always presented Jesus as the One who had nowhere to settle; in fact, the Son of God showed the precarious nature of his life in every circumstance.

Enamoured with poverty, Francis addressed his friars with the words of Luke 9:58:

"[Thus] he taught the friars to build poor little houses [...] to live in them not as their own homes, but as in the homes of others, as pilgrims and strangers.

He said that the code of pilgrims is this:

'Gather under the roof of others, feel thirst for your homeland, pass away in peace'" (FF1120).

And since he repeated that those who do his works are children of God, the Poor Man of Assisi distinguished himself as a child, and in the Spirit he performed many healings.

"People of all ages and both sexes ran to see and listen to this new man, given by heaven to the world.

He travelled through various regions, fervently proclaiming the Gospel, and the Lord cooperated, confirming the Word with the miracles that accompanied him.

In fact, in the name of the Lord, Francis, preacher of the truth, cast out demons, healed the sick, and, even more amazingly, with the power of his words, he softened and moved the stubborn to repentance and, at the same time, restored health to bodies and hearts" (FF 1212).

Clare herself, in her Letters to Blessed Agnes of Prague, takes up the theme of the precarious dimension of Christ and therefore of discipleship.

"O blessed poverty! To those who love and embrace you, you procure eternal riches...

O pious poverty! The Lord Jesus Christ, in whose power were and are heaven and earth, since a mere nod of his word was enough and all things were created, deigned to embrace you in preference to all other things. For he said:

Foxes have their dens, birds of the sky have their nests, but the Son of Man, that is, Christ, has nowhere to lay his head, and when he laid it on his chest, it was to breathe his last" (FF 2864 - First Letter).

In their radical following of Christ, the two champions of poverty had acquired the freedom to be influenced by nothing but Christ.

Wednesday, 26th wk. in Ordinary Time  (Lk 9:57-62)

Luke presents Jesus proceeding firmly and courageously towards Jerusalem.

For this reason a village of Samaritans did not want to receive him.

The disciples intend to react to the inhospitality shown, but Jesus takes them back, understanding the mission he was fulfilling.

The open window of the Sources tells us interesting things about this.

In his writings, Francis taught his brothers to persevere with patience when they were not accepted, going elsewhere, for love of Christ who suffered the same things.

The Sources - specifically the Regola non bollata (1221) - says:

"And let all the brothers, wherever they are, remember that they have given themselves and abandoned their bodies to our Lord Jesus Christ.

And for his love they must expose themselves to enemies both visible and invisible, for the Lord says:

'He who loses his soul for my sake will save it for eternal life'" (FF 45).

And again in Admonitions:

"Let us look closely, brothers and sisters, at the good shepherd who, in order to save his sheep, endured the passion of the cross.

The Lord's sheep followed him in tribulation and persecution, in ignominy and hunger, in infirmity and temptation and other such things; and they received from the Lord eternal life in return" (FF 155).

On the other hand, Francis, to Brother Leo himself, will teach that when we are not received, remaining in patience, we are in perfect joy:

"And I always stand at the door and say, 'For God's sake receive me for this night.'

And he replies: 'I will not. Go to the place of the Cruciferous and ask there."

"Well, if I have been patient and have not been disturbed, I say to you that here is true joy and here is true virtue and salvation of the soul" ( FF 278).

Jesus, in fact, goes further, where he encounters rejection, rebuking his own who find it hard to accept non-acceptance.

Francis follows it as Providence.

«He hardened his Face to depart towards Jerusalem. And he sent angels before his face» (Lk 9:51b-52)

Tuesday 26th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,51-56)

The passage from the Gospel of John introduces us to the feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels entrusted with special missions among men.

Jesus refers to them in his conversation with Nathanael about his divinity:

«You will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man» (Jn 1:51b).

Francis of Assisi had a special devotion to the Angels, so much so that he chose the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, a place of singular graces, as his small portion to live in.

The Sources, testimony to the life of the Poverello and all the friars, inform us.

"He venerated the Angels with the greatest affection, who are with us on the battlefield and walk with us in the shadow of death.

'We must venerate,' he said, 'these companions who follow us everywhere and likewise invoke them as guardians'.

He taught that we must not offend their gaze, nor dare to do in their presence what we would not do in front of men.

And precisely because psalms are sung in choir before the Angels, he wanted everyone who could to gather in the oratory* and sing psalms there with devotion.

He often repeated that Blessed Michael should be honoured in a more solemn manner because he has the task of presenting souls to God.

Therefore, in honour of St. Michael, between the feast of the Assumption and his own feast day, he fasted with the utmost devotion for forty days. And he said:

"Everyone should offer God a tribute of praise or some other special gift in honour of such a glorious prince" (FF 785).

And, regarding the Porziuncola:

"There he often enjoyed the visit of Angels, as the name of the church itself seemed to indicate, called since ancient times Santa Maria degli Angeli.

Therefore, he chose it as his residence because of his veneration for the Angels and his special love for the Mother of Christ.

The Saint loved this place more than any other place in the world. Here, in fact, he experienced the humility of his beginnings; here he progressed in virtue; here he happily reached his goal.

At the time of his death, he recommended this place to the friars as the place most dear to the Virgin" (FF 1048).

We can believe him, because Francis was an «Israelite in whom there is no deceit».

• Oratory = a place reserved for the prayer of religious or the choir of the church.

Today's Gospel reading presents us with three important existential dimensions that Francis held in high regard.

The parable of poor Lazarus and the immoderate rich man evokes the diligent use of riches, concern for the needy, and is a call to conversion, since after death, individual judgement will be irreversible.

Francis, the Poor Man of Assisi, always had this Gospel image before his eyes, which led him to turn his heart more fully towards God and the poor.

The Sources attest that, from the beginning of his journey:

"(Francis) had always helped the needy, but from that moment on he firmly resolved never to refuse alms to the poor who asked for them for the love of God, and indeed to give spontaneously and generously.

Whenever Francis was away from home, he would give money to any poor person who asked him for charity; if he had none, he would give them his hat or belt, so as not to send them away empty-handed.

Or, if he had neither, he would withdraw to a secluded place, take off his shirt and secretly give it to the poor man, begging him to take it for the love of God.

He bought tools that churches needed and secretly gave them to poor priests" (FF 1403).

Furthermore, the Legend of the Three Companions informs us:

"Divine grace had profoundly changed him. Although he did not wear a religious habit, he longed to find himself unknown in some city, where he could exchange his clothes for the rags of a beggar and try begging himself for the love of God" (FF 1405).

The Minim knew that what he gave to the poor was given to Christ himself and that a single glass of water given to those little ones and marginalised people was offered to Jesus.

The encounter with the leper in the plain of Assisi had, in fact, transformed bitterness into true sweetness in him.

Francis feared divine judgement and desired to respond to what the Word of God asked of him.

He was truly the Poor Man made bread, the Jester made mercy, the Generous One who regenerates hope.

Assisi had become for him the table of Charity on which to place love and forgiveness; a welcome for the unconsidered - an unknown number for the rich gluttons of the time, cleared through customs by his evangelical life.

We read in the Sources:

"[the friars] despised [...] all ephemeral goods, coveted by the lovers of this world.

Above all, they opposed money, trampling it like the dust of the road.

Francis had taught them that money was worth no more than donkey dung.

The more they were separated from the world, the more they clung to God.

They advanced along the way of the cross and the paths of justice: they removed every obstacle from the narrow path of penance and evangelical observance, in order to leave a smooth and safe road for those who would follow them" (FF 1454).

Chiara herself, from an early age, deprived her body of food to give it to the poor, maintaining this attitude of care and special concern for the needy throughout her life.

Both made intelligent, evangelical use of the goods at their disposal in the service of the Kingdom of God.

«Son, remember that you received your good things in your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise received evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are tortured» (Lk 16:25)

The little Poor Man always exhorted his friars to be merciful to every form of poverty, because judgement does not grant full life to those who do not recognise it in their brothers.

«Now there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. But a poor man named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores and longing to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table» (Lk 16:19-20)

Sunday 26th in O.T. year C  (Lk 16:19-31)

The Gospel of Luke speaks today of the second announcement of the Passion of Jesus.

He sought to prepare the disciples for the consummation of his Paschal Mystery, but they struggled to understand, they did not grasp the meaning of what the Lord was expressing.

Just as Jesus is faced with the disciples' incomprehension before the mystery of his death, so Francis has before him, at the end of his life, the bewilderment of his brothers.

In the Sources:

"He summoned all the brothers present in the house, and seeking to soothe the grief they showed at his death, he exhorted them with fatherly affection to the love of God [...].

"Farewell," he said, "all you my sons, live in the fear of the Lord and keep yourselves in it always!

And since the hour of trial and tribulation draws near, blessed are those who persevere in what they have undertaken!

For I hasten to God and commend you all to his grace'.

And he also blessed all the brothers, wherever they were in the world, and those who would come after them until the end of the ages" (FF 806).

"While the brothers shed bitter tears and lamented in despair [...] He also wanted the books of the Gospels and asked that they read to him the Gospel according to John [...]" (FF 808).

And again:

"He then turned to the doctor:

"Courage, Brother Doctor, tell me that death is imminent: for me it will be the door of life!".

And to the friars:

"When you see me reduced to the extreme, expose me naked on the earth as you saw me the day before yesterday, and after I am dead, let me lie like this for the time necessary to comfortably cover a mile".

At last his hour came, and all the mysteries of Christ having been fulfilled in him, he departed happily to God" (FF 810).

«Put these words in your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men» (Lk 9:44)

Saturday of the 25th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 9,43b-45)